Baron Strucker

In the comic books, Baron Wolfgang von Strucker is a key enemy of the likes of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers. A figurehead of the evil organisation known as HYDRA, he is a ruthless military strategist and master of disguise. He also possesses immortality and wears a gauntlet known as the Satan Claw, which can fire powerful energy blasts.

But we saw none of that in his limited appearances in the Marvel Cinematic Universe – and that’s what’s so disappointing about this depiction.

Thomas Kretschmann played the character and did very little wrong in the role – it’s just that he had very little to do. He was teased in the mid-credits scene of Captain America: The Winter Soldier and it seemed as though he was going to become a major villain in the franchise.

However, he was killed off almost immediately in his first appearance in the main body of a movie – in Avengers: Age of Ultron – when Ultron got his hands on him after the Avengers had captured him in the HYDRA base he was overseeing and subsequently handed him over to NATO.

Could his immortality serum see him return? Potentially – but the likelihood is that he won’t and that’s a shame.